The Almost End
by Miss Romance-Lover
Summary: A series of short chapters set in between the scenes we saw onscreen between Brendan & Ste for their final week together. Now complete. #Stendan
1. 1

**The Almost End**

_1)_

"I thought I was gonna die!"

"It's okay...it's okay."

They stood wrapped in each other for another long minute, neither one quite ready to let go yet. There was safety in their embrace, which held a complete contrast to the marks on Ste's face, he knew. But there it was anyway.

Finally, Ste forced himself to pull away, rubbing his still tearful eyes.

"I'm just gonna go and..." he trailed off, pointing in the general direction of the bathroom.

Brendan nodded, but looked concerned. "Ye okay?"

"Yeah...I just need a few minutes. You go and look after your sister – I don't know what I'd have done without her tonight, you know."

Ste left Brendan to it and made his way upstairs, where he locked himself in the bathroom. He sat on the edge of the bath and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He'd really thought he would be a goner in that fridge.

He thought about Leah and Lucas, and how close he'd come to leaving them fatherless.

So much for calming down – there were now more tears than before, and he could even hear gentle sobbing. Delayed shock and preoccupied thoughts meant that it took him a moment before he realised the sounds were coming from him.

"Steven?"

He tried to take another deep breath, but this only caused another choking sob to escape.

"Steven...are ye alright in there?"

"Yeah," he managed, standing up to run the tap and splash cold water over his face. His cuts still stung at the contact, and he hissed under his breath at the pain.

"Ye sure?" came Brendan's voice again, and Ste sighed in defeat.

"No, not really," he admitted, unlocking the door and sitting down again, this time on the floor.

Brendan walked in, shutting the door behind him and then joining Ste, cross-legged opposite him. There wasn't much else to say on the whole 'not being okay' front.

'"I...I was thinking we should both stay here tonight, that okay with ye?"

"Brendan, it's almost three o'clock in the morning. You've just been held hostage; and me and Cheryl have been trapped in a fridge. I can't say I were planning on wandering back to the flat at this hour," Ste replied with a half-teasing smile.

"Oh, that's alright then," he smiled weakly, too tired to bother fending off his obvious point. "Steven? I am sorry, ye know? For hurting ye again, _and_ for what ye had to go through tonight."

"I know."

There wasn't much that could be said to that, so silence hung in the air until Ste had a sudden thought. "Is Cheryl okay?"

"Yeah."

"And your dad?"

Brendan merely nodded. "It's only the two of us awake now," he remarked plainly. And for once, it wasn't an implication of what they could be getting up to while alone.

Ste nodded back. "I don't know if I could sleep yet – I can't switch off."

"It's...been a long night."

Instead of responding, Ste made to stand up. Brendan followed his lead and they walked out of the bathroom together, footsteps treading softly down the stairs.

"Reckon Cheryl would mind if I used some of her hot chocolate?"

A fond smile formed on Brendan's lips as he gestured towards the kitchen as if to say _'go ahead'._

"You want one?" Ste turned to ask as he busied himself spooning chocolate powder into one of Cheryl's hot pink mugs.

"No thanks."

By the time he sat down with his drink, Ste's short burst of energy had run out. He slumped down on the sofa next to Brendan, took a sip and placed it down on the coffee table.

"Steven?"

"Mm?" He was starting to feel drowsy, despite his claims of not being able to switch off.

Brendan didn't seem to notice. "I was talking to Chez just now, and she mentioned something that...worried me."

Ste's head was now starting to droop. "Hm?"

"She said ye...ye wished I loved ye as much as ye loved me. But ye see, the thing is Steven...ye've got it all upside down."

"Upside down? What you on about now?" He mumbled almost incoherently.

"I love ye _far_ more than you love me," Brendan stated firmly.

Ste let out a snort. Or a snore - Brendan wasn't entirely sure, to be honest.

Until he heard a few whispered words follow it in reply.

"That's what _you_ think..."


	2. 2

**Thanks for the lovely reviews! Another short one, this time set the morning after the hug. Before I continue...who else cried their eyes out at tonight's first look episode?! Emmett, Bronagh & Kieron were incredible, weren't they? Still in shock...**

**Anyway, on we go!**

_2)_

He loved watching Steven sleep. Just like his incessant talking, it calmed him.

This morning was different though. Firstly, Brendan was staring into the beautiful face of the man he'd recently thrown yet _more_ punches at. After promising the both of them that he'd never be that person again, he'd already broken his vow within a matter of months.

Secondly, he'd very nearly lost this man just a few hours ago.

He continued to watch the young man as he slept, marvelling at how peaceful he looked. Steven Hay was one of the things in his life that reminded him there could be good in the world.

As if needing further reassurance of that fact, Brendan picked up the phone sitting beside the man he loved and lit up the screen. The photo he already knew would be there stared back at him – himself with Leah and Lucas.

The three most important people in his life, Steven had told him a few weeks ago.

He tore his eyes away and stood to walk out on to the balcony, looking out into the village.

A hand nudged his side as another body joined him. "You alright?"

"Mm," he replied, then watched in silence as Ste made his way back inside almost as quickly as he'd appeared.

Minutes later he found him, curled up on the sofa and arms wrapped around himself. Clearly the peace he had found in his sleep hadn't followed him into his waking hours.

"Hey...come here."

Ste dragged himself up and slouched over to where Brendan was standing, by the door.

"Ye are _alive_, Steven. Everything's going to be okay now. Ye have _nothing_ to worry about, ye hear me?"

Ste nodded, and Brendan made a move to cup his face with his hands. He was hesitant to help himself to close contact after using his fists again, and he wasn't going to do anything Steven wasn't ready for.

Thankfully, he wasn't met with any resistance.

"Brendan?"

"Yes?"

"I love you, you know."

"I know. I love ye too."

"I was having a right moan to Cheryl about you last night, before we got locked in that fridge."

Brendan took his hands away, and Ste had to fight to stop himself from whimpering at the loss of comfort.

"Good. I deserved it," the older man commented lightly.

"I just keep thinking that I could've died, and the last things I'd ever have said about you would've been..."

"It doesn't matter," Brendan cut him off. "Doesn't matter, 'cos ye _didn't_ die, Steven."

Ste let out a breath and told himself to let it go.

"Ye are one of a kind, ye know that? I hit ye, and ye feel guilty about badmouthing me," Brendan shook his head, would probably have chuckled if the circumstances had been different.

"Yeah, well. I over-think things, don't I?"

Their dwindling conversation was halted when Ste's phone started ringing.

"Doug? Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for everything...no, no I'll be in later. I don't need to _rest_, Doug, I want to work! Right, tell Leanne I won't be long."

He pocketed his phone, ignored Brendan's look of concern over his plans to go to work and headed towards the kitchen.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving..."


	3. 3

**Thank you, I am loving reading your comments and it reassures me that I'm not the only one mourning the end of Brendan & Stendan! Can I just take a moment to applaud the wonderful Kieron Richardson who, as well as Emmett & Bronagh, stole the show as Ste in that last hospital room scene?! And Amy & the kids returning to give him a group hug at the end was perfect!**

**So this chapter is set in the early aftermath of Walker's death...let me know what you think!**

_3)_

"Brendan? Brendan, are you there?"

He had answered the call, but the truth was he had no words in him yet, he was still in shock.

After watching Walker get wiped out by that train, Brendan had, eventually, managed to drag himself up and find his way back to the car. Which was where he sat now, on the phone to Steven.

"Brendan! What's happening?" He sounded frantic, and it was this that broke Brendan out of his trance.

"Everything's fine, Steven. He's gone. Walker is dead."

He heard the young man exhale in relief – possibly the first time Ste had seemed genuinely unfazed by the death of a man at Brendan's hands.

"Are...are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be home soon, just...give me a little while."

They hung up, and Brendan leaned back against the drivers' seat. As the shock slowly wore off, Walker's last words were now just dawning on him.

"_I've left a little present for your family. And it's gonna tear their lives apart."_

Shit. It wasn't over yet.

He found Steven back at the flat, watching TV on the sofa but not looking the least bit absorbed in it. He turned his head the moment Brendan appeared.

"You're back," Ste stated the obvious, because what else was he supposed to say?

Until he registered the blood smeared on his boyfriend's face.

Brendan must have spotted the change in Ste's expression, because he hurried to explain.

"I didn't...I didn't _kill _him. Not like that. The man gave as good as he got, Steven. Until he got in the way of an oncoming train."

A question that was surely on the younger man's lips remained unspoken: how the hell did you end up in the path of a train? But Ste let it go, instead getting up to meet Brendan at the door.

He held the man's face in his hands and brought them together so they were touching, forehead to forehead.

Brendan looked drained and exhausted, and the blood on his face was now dry.

"I'll run you a bath, shall I?"

Ste received a grateful look and a nod in return. "Thank ye."

He disappeared into the bathroom, expecting Brendan to follow. So he was a bit startled to return, minutes later, to find him still standing in the same spot.

He looked troubled. Walker was gone; he'd said so himself. So what was he holding back now?

"Brendan?"

He looked up and gave a small half smile. "Mm?"

Ste flicked his eyes over Brendan's fragile form, noticed the effort he was making to manage a smile, and decided it would have to be a conversation for another day. He crossed the room and took his hand to lead him into the bathroom.

"Come on. Bath's ready."

Asking if he was hungry didn't seem appropriate, but later Ste made some food anyway, and was glad to see that Brendan was able to eat.

It was unsettling to learn that the older man was behaving in the very way he himself would have done in this type of situation; and meanwhile Ste was cooking as if all was right with the world. It was as if they'd switched roles for a short time.

The thing was, after the horror of having his kids' lives threatened, knowing the person behind it was dead _did_ make things right in his book.

"Thank you, for stopping him," Ste murmured softly when they'd finished eating. "I don't know if he'd really have gone to the trouble of getting to Leah and Lucas, but I couldn't take the risk."

"I know," Brendan replied quietly. "Neither could I. Ye were right. He was never going to stop if I didn't do something."

That night Ste slept soundly while Brendan crept out of the flat and into the club during the early hours, thoughts of Walker's last warning still fresh in his mind.


	4. 4

**Hi readers – I haven't forgotten this one I promise! Was distracted writing a very long Stendan oneshot called **Not In This Lifetime **which I posted a few days ago. Thank you to all of you who read and reviewed, such lovely feedback! If you haven't read it yet and would like to, please check it out on my page :) Anyway, this chapter is set the morning after Walker's death, just _after_ Brendan has told Ste about what his father did to him but _before _that tragic 'happy ever after' chat. **

_4)_

"I thought closure would feel a lot different than this."

"That's because you've still got one thing left to do."

"What's that?"

"Tell Cheryl. Not for me; not for her. Gotta do this for you, Brendan."

He shook his head determinedly. "I can't, Steven."

Ste stood up, made another attempt to wipe away his own tears. "Come here," he said, and Brendan looked up at him vulnerably, then slowly moved to meet him at his spot beside the table.

"You _can_ do this. You owe it to yourself."

Brendan smiled back sadly. "If only it was that simple."

Ste reached up and took the older man's face in his hands. "Listen to me," he said softly but firmly. "You're a lot stronger than you think. I know it's not the same, because what you went through, well, I can't even imagine...but if Terry had turned up out of the blue and moved in like your dad did, there's no way I'd have been able to keep all that anger in."

"I hardly think I've been holding everything in these last few months." To emphasise his point, Brendan pulled back and gently traced the marks on Ste's face – the ones he'd put there himself.

"I know that. And I'm not excusing you," he added pointedly. "But if you'd have seen the things I did to Amy every time she said something about my mum or Terry, _especially_ if they'd turned up to harass me...I constantly felt like my head was exploding back then."

"That was then, Steven," Brendan replied. "_Ye _are stronger now, too."

"Yeah, maybe – but it'd be a different story if either of them turned up tomorrow. I couldn't do what you've been doing all this time to protect Cheryl."

Brendan sighed, conflicted between his desperation to keep his sister happy, and the temptation to open up to her completely for the first time ever. "It'll kill her," he said finally.

"Don't you think it'd break her heart if she spent the rest of her life still worshipping that man, only to find out the truth when it's too late?"

"I'll think about it."

Ste knew enough to drop it for the time being.

"Steven?"

"Yeah?"

Brendan gave him a quick, almost shy peck on the lips. "Thank ye."

"For what? Going on at you like I always do?"

There was a soft chuckle. "No. For listening. For believing me. For making me feel, for the first time, like I didn't deserve all that stuff my Da' did."

"That's because you _didn't_. Maybe one day I'll be able to convince you that it's true, eh?"

Ste watched as Brendan attempted to busy himself tidying up the bar. And considering it was the middle of the day and there was nothing to tidy, this was clearly a distraction for someone who was still very much on edge.

He decided to leave him be for a while – there was only so much he could do to calm him down. "Right, I'm gonna head off, I'll see you later yeah?"

Brendan walked with him towards the door. "Okay. Listen, I'm sorry, I'm just a bit..."

"I know, you're still stressing over everything. Look, I've told you what I think you should do..."


	5. 5

**Well guys, this is the last chapter. I've had such lovely reviews, and some of you even asked that I write an alternative ending for Stendan. I don't think I need to, because I've already read one that was perfectly done. So if you want to read a different outcome to their story, please check out **Just Be**, written by **Sammi-Loves**. A great one shot :)**

**I also wanted to say thank you again to anyone who read and reviewed my recent one shot **Not In This Lifetime** – set twenty years in the future.**

**For this final chapter, I made a few changes regarding the latest Amy appearance. Again, thanks for the support x**

_5)_

"You get _one_ phone call, Brady."

The prison officer eyed him suspiciously, but what he didn't know about this latest inmate was that he was done fighting. His fate was sealed and nothing was going to change that.

There was, however, something Brendan could do for the one he'd left behind. He'd already memorised the phone number weeks before in his haste to help Steven, but only now did he have the courage to actually dial it.

"Amy? It's Brendan," he spoke quietly but clearly into the phone, unwilling to have any of the nosy guards overhear him. This was the only phone call he was ever going to make, no matter how many more he might be entitled to.

"_What the hell do _you_ want?"_

He smirked to himself. Charming as ever, Miss Barnes.

"It's Steven. He needs ye. Ye and the kids."

He heard Amy sigh down the phone. _"What have you done to him now, __Brendan?"_

"Nothing..." Not strictly true, but that wasn't the point of this phone call.

"_Then why are you wasting my time? I've got nothing more to say to you. Ste can look after himself, he doesn't need _you_ ringing people up for him!"_

Brendan shook his head, trying to rid his mind of that last image of Steven as he was physically pulled away from him.

He took a deep breath. It was time to be honest; even though it would ultimately prove Amy Barnes was right about him all along.

"He's not with me, Amy. I've...been arrested. I'm looking at a long stretch inside for murder. I'm out of Steven's life now, and he's gonna need ye. So I'm asking ye now – _please _don't shut him out of ye lives."

And with that he hung up, without even waiting for her answer. He had every confidence that she wouldn't let Steven down.

Unlike him.

Brendan Brady knew he'd just made things final; that he'd said goodbye to any claim he'd ever had to a future with the man he loved.

It hurt. _A lot_. But he could cope if it meant that Steven could have an uncomplicated future; a life he deserved.

Until the next life.

**~ STENDAN ~ STENDAN ~ STENDAN ~**

Ste wasn't sure he would ever be able to pick himself up off the floor. The flat had been turned upside down by police and forensics, and now it was just him.

Alone.

Until he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked up, mid sob, to find Leah standing in front of him. Within seconds, both of his children were in his arms and he felt some of the pain inside his heart begin to numb.

He was certain it was only a temporary remedy; but he'd take whatever he could get at this point. He looked up again to see Amy watching him. She gave him a sad, awkward half smile that simply said, 'I know', and then joined in with the group hug.

It was another ten minutes before anyone said anything of any sense.

"What are you doing here?" Ste began once the kids were settled with their toys and a snack. "I mean how did you..."

"I got a phone call earlier," Amy interrupted him carefully. "From Brendan."

He almost choked on the weak cup of tea he'd been half-heartedly sipping. "_What_?"

"He told me he's been arrested for murder. Then he said you needed us. Then he just...hung up," she replied. Ste noted that she looked puzzled, but doubted it was because of the murder charges Brendan now faced.

Of course _that_ didn't surprise her. Realistically Amy would never have given Brendan a chance. He only wished he could tell her the truth behind this latest development – but it wasn't Ste's secret to tell.

"I can't believe he called you..."

"That makes two of us," she sighed. "So, go on then, who did he kill?"

Ste flinched. "Amy! Just leave it, will you? I can't do this right now."

Her eyes softened, and she reached out to take his hand and give it a squeeze. "I'm sorry. Look, Ste...I can't take back what I said about him - Brendan was never going to be able to give you what you wanted. Not forever. But he loves you; even _I_ can see that."

He managed a small smile. "Do you mean that?"

She nodded. "He wouldn't have bothered to ring me otherwise, would he?"

Ste let that thought wash over him for a few minutes. It was a small comfort.

"I just...don't know what to do now. What do I do, Ames?"

She gave him a firm look. "Now it's time to be brave."

Well, until the next life, anyway.


End file.
